Kaizen Report Template
Document and summarize continuous improvement activities across your teams and org.
About the Kaizen Report Template
Kaizen is a business philosophy that originated in Japan. It is based on the continuous improvement of working practices and personal efficiency. In companies that follow this philosophy, all members of the organization—from the CEO down to individual contributors—are expected to participate in kaizen practices.
When is a kaizen report useful?
A kaizen report helps identify gaps and inefficiencies. Under this approach, every employee in the organization is responsible for auditing their processes and understanding what they might have overlooked. In that way, a kaizen report can be an important tool for increasing accountability at all levels of the organization.
Kaizen is more of a general approach then a specific strategy, so people may include different elements in a kaizen report. Overall, though, a kaizen report is useful for the following reasons.
1 - Reduce waste. Kaizen reports help you discover how you can use your personnel and inventory more productively in the future.
2 - Increase employee satisfaction. Under the kaizen approach, everyone from an entry-level employee to the CEO creates kaizen reports. The reports can thereby make everyone feel as though they have a stake in the company and can showcase their impact.
3 - Improve employee retention. Since your employees are more likely to feel engaged, they are also more likely to stay at the company for longer.
4 - Increase your competitiveness. Kaizen reports help you identify gaps and inefficiencies. Once you’ve identified them, you can fix them and make your company even more competitive. This gives you an edge in your market.
5 - Improve customer satisfaction - Regular kaizen reports, and the kaizen approach more broadly, will improve your products. In turn, that will make your customers happier.
6 - Solve problems more efficiency. Kaizen is a solutions-first approach. It empowers you to get at the root of a problem quickly and effectively.
7 - Build better teams. Overall, the kaizen approach will bring your teams closer together. Creating kaizen reports also makes it easier to train new team members, easily bringing them up to speed on processes and desired results.
What do you include in a kaizen report?
A kaizen report doesn’t need to be overly complicated. In its simplest form, it summarizes what the situation was before, which action(s) you took, and what the effect was after. You may wish to include visual elements (photos, diagrams, etc.) to help illustrate the story.
Get started with this template right now.
Cross Functional Flowchart
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Org Charts, Business Management
Have a quick look at everyone on a project and see exactly what they’ll contribute. That’s the clarity and transparency a cross-functional flowchart will give you. These are also called “swim lane” flowcharts because each person (each customer, client, or representative from a specific function) is assigned a lane—a clear line—that will help you visualize their roles at each stage of the project. This template will empower you to streamline processes, reduce inefficiencies, and make meaningful cross-functional relationships.
5 Whys Template
Works best for:
Design Thinking, Operations, Mapping
Ready to get to the root of the problem? There’s no simpler way to do it than the 5 Whys technique. You’ll start with a simple question: Why did the problem happen? Then you’ll keep asking, up to four more times, until the answer becomes clear and you can work toward a solution. And Miro’s features enhance the approach: You can ask team members questions in chat or @mention them in comments, and use color-coded sticky notes to call out issues that are central to the problem at hand.
What? So What? Now What? Template
Works best for:
Agile Workflows, Retrospectives, Brainstorming
The What? So What? Now What? Framework empowers you to uncover gaps in your understanding and learn from others’ perspectives. You can use the What? So What? Now What? Template to guide yourself or a group through a reflection exercise. Begin by thinking of a specific event or situation. During each phase, ask guiding questions to help participants reflect on their thoughts and experience. Working with your team, you can then utilize the template to record your ideas and to guide the experience.
3x3 Prioritization Method Template
Works best for:
Operations, Prioritization, Strategic Planning
It’s all about assessing a task or idea, and quickly deciding the effort it will take and the potential impact it will have—ranked low, medium, or high. That’s what the 3x3 prioritization method does: Help teams prioritize and identify quick wins, big projects, filler tasks, or time-wasters. With nine bucket areas, it offers slightly greater detail than the 2x2 Prioritization Matrix (or Lean Prioritization Method). It’s easy to make your own 3x3 prioritization matrix—then use it to determine what activities or ideas to focus on with your valuable resources.
Three-Hour Brand Sprint Template
Works best for:
Marketing, Workshops, Sprint Planning
Before customers will believe in your brand, your team has to believe. That’s where brand sprints work wonders. Popularized by the team at Google Ventures, a brand sprint will help your team sort through all different ideas about your brand and align on your brand’s fundamental building blocks—your values, audience, personality, mission statement, roadmap, and more. Whether you’re building a new brand or revamping an existing one, brand sprints are ideal for trigger events such as naming your company, designing a logo, hiring an agency, or writing a manifesto.
Voice of the Customer Template
Works best for:
Marketing, Desk Research, User Experience
Identifying the voice of the customer is a crucial part of any customer experience strategy. Your Voice of Customer is simply a framework for understanding your customers’ needs, wants, preferences, and expectations as they interact with your brand. Evaluating your Voice of Customer allows you to dive into what your customers are thinking, feeling, and saying about your products and services, so you can build a better customer journey. Use the Voice of Customer template to record answers to key questions about your customer, including: What are they saying about our product? What do they need? How can we fulfill that need? And who is this persona?